MEDICAL auditors could be brought in to spot suspicious death patterns following Harold Shipman's killings.

An independent review of the inquest process, commissioned by the government, has put forward plans for a massive overhaul of the system.

Alongside the Shipman Inquiry, which reconvenes in October to look at death and cremation certification, the final report will make recommendations to tighten up procedures.

Shipman's crimes exposed loopholes in the death and cremation certification process that meant his killing went undetected for 23 years.

A consultation paper published by the Coroners Review team suggests bringing in regional auditors to monitor death rates and spot unusual patterns.

The independent experts would also regularly check doctors' certification process and would have the power to spot check individual deaths.

The review also proposes scrapping the three-tier cremation certification process.

At the moment a doctor has to countersign certificates to allow a body to be cremated, a safeguard to prevent foul play. But Shipman's spree revealed the system was inadequate as 172 of the 215 victims killed at his hand were cremated.

Instead it recommends tougher certificates demanding fuller details on the circumstances of death using independent doctors.

A spokeswoman for the Coroners Review panel said: "There has been a number of high profile cases in the last couple of years including the case of Dr Shipman that have brought the system to the attention of the government.

"This is only the consultation stage but the final report will be published early next year and will be put to government."

Tameside coroner John Pollard refused to comment on the report as he is due to be called before the Shipman Inquiry to discuss his role in the death cremation and certification process.

He has already faced questioning by the inquiry team, headed by Dame Janet Smith, over the initial police investigation into Shipman in March 1998.

Mr Pollard raised the alarm with police after he was contacted by GP Linda Reynolds who was concerned about the high death rate at the Market Street surgery. But he did not contact officers to find out how the investigation was going after making the report or make any further inquiries of his own.

The report also recommends changing the verdicts coroners can make on deaths after an inquest, in particular scrapping the suicide verdict because of the stigma attached to it.